Letters to the Editor Tuesday

Some of you may or may not have seen a Native American guy downtown named Two-Feathers. He’d been traveling around the country for some years, and I met him shortly after he arrived in Savannah.

I played music with him, and my friends and I would occasionally give him food if we saw him and had some to give. He hadn’t intended on staying long, but over time the city enchanted him and he began making a home of it — hanging out in the squares and nesting at Forsyth Park with other travelers, street kids and paupers that shared like aspects of their livelihood.

I’m sad to have heard today that recently Two-Feathers was struck and killed by a car, ensuring that this would be his city to the end.

He liked to sing his own music on guitar and to hear other people’s music as well. He wore two feathers tied into his traditionally long hair for his namesake. When I would ask him how he was he would often say, “Hey man, we long hairs don’t care!” It was his own “hakuna matata” of sorts.

He also liked to drink, but despite getting a little rambunctious at times, he was a well-meaning, sensitive individual. From what I saw, he was always genuinely grateful to those who were good to him.

Rest in peace, Two-Feathers. Many of us were glad we could have known you.

Thanks for adding your part to what makes Savannah great and for seeing this city for what she really is.

PHOENIX GODWIN

Savannah

Want to make bank? Work for Uncle Sam

In response to the Jan. 3 letter to the editor from Nicole Byram, chapter president for the National Treasury Employee Union Chapter 150 in Savannah, during the last decade, compensation of federal employees rose much faster than compensation of private-sector employees.

As a side note, this has occurred under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

The average federal civilian worker now earns twice as much in wages and benefits as the average worker in the U.S. private sector.

In 2010, federal civilian workers had an average wage of $83,679, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. By comparison, the average wage of the nation’s 101 million private-sector workers was $51,986.

When benefits such as health care and pensions are included, the federal compensation advantage over private workers is even larger, according to the BEA data. In 2010, federal worker compensation averaged $126,141, or double the private-sector average of $62,757.

I need to get me a job with the federal government.

MARK MATHEWS

Savannah

Don’t let Guyton dump waste into Ogeechee

This is an urgent call out to all fishermen, sportsmen and anyone else who boats or swims in the Ogeechee River.

The Ogeechee is about to suffer yet another stab in the back.

The city of Guyton will hold a public hearing on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Guyton Leisure Service Building on 505 Magnolia St.

The subject is their ongoing bid to use the Ogeechee as a discharge point for Guyton’s proposed sewage treatment plant.

This plant is not needed. Effingham County has a large sewage treatment plant that Guyton could hook up to at a considerable less expense.

Effingham County’s treatment facility does not discharge into the Ogeechee River.

If you ever wondered how our river got to its near death status, I strongly urge you to attend this meeting.

Let the Guyton officials know that our river has too much filth in it and we won’t tolerate anymore,

If “we the people” don’t stop this now, the Ogeechee will never recover.

WAYNE CARNEY

Eldora

Swift boat group right about Kerry

Some of us who have served our country like to say that we all fought for freedom of speech and, today, anyone can say anything.

There is no basis in facts for the statements about Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in Sunday’s letter to the editor from John Findeis (“Obama’s income makes him rich guy, too”).

We in SwiftVets organized ourselves. We were all boat officers or crew and we came together because of our belief that the voting public should hear first-hand views of John Kerry’s activities in Vietnam.

No one else told us what to do or say and we never supported another candidate. We were deeply appreciative of the more than 100,000 citizens who contributed funds to support our work.

John Kerry and his Swift Boat were assigned to my unit for several combat missions. One of his crew members participated in SwiftVets.

No one has ever challenged our views in “Unfit for Command;” they just continue to misrepresent what we did and said.

We don’t know what Kerry will do next. The media storm in 2004 and following has been a painful disappointment, but the public did listen to what SwiftVets said in 2004.

TOM WRIGHT

Savannah

Obama nails it with Hagel nomination

Occasionally in some Washington fights, President Obama loses courage. But in nominating Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, the president found his footing.

Hagel was a great senator from Nebraska. Awarded two Purple Hearts for action in Vietnam, he speaks his mind without fear or favor on issues important to our nation. If the American value of fairness is applied, Chuck Hagel will be a great Secretary of Defense.

BEN HUBBY

Savannah

Apostle of Jesus used illegal weapon

In response to Greg Brock’s letter to the editor, “Jesus would not own firearms,” read John 18:10.

“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest’s servant...”

So He at least accepted, as He always did, normal patterns of the time.

But wait. It’s worse — citizens were not permitted such weapons at the time, so it was an illegal (fire) arm.

By the way, every mom at the time would have applauded an enterprising child who brought home pot meat.

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Is a fine choice. This is a guy who volunteered to fight for his country when others were avoiding the draft, and who had the good sense to buck his party leadership and eventually come out strongly against the war in Iraq. The neoconservatives are trying to paint him as "anti-Israel" because he is an independent thinker whose inclination is not to bomb first and ask questions later. However, his record is clearly one that supports that nation while keeping U.S. interests first and foremost. He will be confirmed after much grumbling and some cheap attack lines, and he will again serve his country well.

As far as the "Swiftvets" are concerned, in my opinion they were misguided for the most part, and the worst of them were just plain liars. The men that were actually on the boats with Kerry, who were closest to him when they were under fire, and the men whose lives he saved, tell a far different story than the "Swiftvets" and thoroughly and convincingly contradict the crap that was "Unfit to Command". Sen. John McCain had it right, the Swiftvets were used to perpetrate a shameful and untrue attack against the man.

It's amusing to hear leftist condemn George Bush and people like him as being born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but never is it said that Kerry has made sure he fell in love with rich widows and lived the good life, not to mention that Al Gore too had a silver spoon in some orifice. His selling of his network and pressing the deal before taxes rose tell me all I need to know about these group of hypocrits. Kerry joined the navy to set the stage for a political career plain and simple, he has been about pure ambition and power since the day he was born, and one of the most despicable people I can think of.

in 2004 to tell the truth about John Kerry. I can understand one or two men that he served with that may not like him or thought he embellished his record but when a whole group comes forward, writes a book and goes on television to set the record straight about John Kerry's lies, half truths and what really happened over there then we should all take notice and question whether he was fit to run this country. It's obvious the American people did take notice.

Thank you Mr. Wright for your service to our country. As I have said before on this forum, most veterans have each others back. John Kerry did not. Instead he stabbed them in the back. If you have had a loved one who went to Viet Nam, served his time there faithfully and honorably, and most of them and their families who have been personally affected by that terrible time in our history should be very troubled by John Kerry being a part of the president's cabinet.

You are badly misled about the Swiftboat vets. Kerry's crew and the men whose lives he saved thoroughly debunked the lies of Unfit To Command years ago. It is unfortunate, but some political hatchet men used some vets for a political purposes. Kerry was lied about, and the people who were lying about him were not actually on his boat. All of the men that served with him under his command back up Sen. Kerry except one, and his criticism was vague stuff and he admitted that he had not been present during the incidents for which Kerry was awarded his medals. If you bother to do some research, you will find that most of the "Swiftboat Vets" who made those commercials and appearances were found to have made directly contradictory statements repeatedly over the years. The attacks in 2004 were motivated by political considerations and differences about Kerry's criticism of the war, and they lied. Significantly, several of them said completely opposite things about him during his Senate campaign in 1996 and supported him.

Sen. McCain : I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew mates have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.

Let met put it this way. first of all I wasn't there. I was in high school during his time in Viet Nam. At that time or a little later the thing I remember the most is Jane Traitor Fonda. I was horrified by her behavior. I remember a little bit about John Kerry testifying but the memory that stands out the most is her and then later when he aligned himself with her I felt betrayed.

When John Kerry ran for president and before the swift boat veterans came forward. I knew very little about his Viet Nam, true or embellished experiences except for the fact he had a camera following him everywhere he went. I thought that was a little odd.

My question to you is who is behind this hatchet job to discredit John Kerry and for what purpose. Is it this person from your link who rounded them all up (the swift boats for truth vets) and convinced them to lie and write a false book, go on television and lie to the American people, and for what reason. I read your link but I would like to read another source about what really happened or didn't happen.

I don't doubt that John Kerry pulled someone out of the river. My main problem re: John Kerry is what he did when he was discharged from the service. Most of our Viet Nam veterans went there because they were drafted and sent over there to fight evil. They didn't go over there to commit war crimes. John Kerry went before Congress and his testimony only made our returning vets lives so much worse. They were already traumatized by a war that they didn't really want to fight but most did so honorably only to come home and have the American people call them viscous names such as baby killers.

Many did not come home at all. My brother was shot and nearly died in the jungle but he survived after getting stabilized and spent many months at Fort Gordon getting his pelvis and hip rebuilt. He was awarded a a purple heart and bronze star for his trouble and then he went on to serve in the Army for 22 years. To me he is an American hero.

Of course I remember Tom Delay. Has he gone to prison yet? What is your point. Sadly many of our politicians are crooks both Dems and Repubs. It is very sad. These are the people we elect to serve the people (us) and many truly are crooked. It always has been and I guess it always will be.

Swiftboat Veterans For Truth was financed by T. Boone Pickens, from Texas, an oil guy and financier who has been a large contributor to the Republican Party for quite some time, including to the campaigns of George W. Bush.

Vietnam was a terribly divisive war that made people on all sides of the politics of it say things they should never had said. It was divisive because it was a wrong-headed war where we put the lives of our soldiers on the line for very little reason, and where the civilian population of a tiny nation suffered greatly. I disagree with what Kerry said while testifying, and I agree that they were intemperate and wrongheaded remarks too. I think it is pretty apparent that he wouldn't say those kinds of things today. It was a bad time for the nation, and I lost some friends in the fighting.

Obviously I agree that the Viet Nam war was divisive. Our returning vets did not deserve the treatment they received upon returning from that war. But we have to remember the timing and the fear of communism and the possibility of it spreading. Communism was something to be feared during the 60's and early 70'. It was a different time and that was one of our greatest fears.

Today when my husband goes to a Veterans clinic and last year had to go the Veterans hospital in Decatur for a procedure caused by service related injuries, every nurse and doctor thanked him for his service to our country. The Iraqi war was also divisive but at least the American people treat our returning vets with respect and always thank them for their service and for that I am grateful.